Using ultrasonic flow meters for measuring high-velocity flow rates, particularly gas flow rates, can present a considerable challenge because the signal quality deteriorates quickly as the flow rate increases. Poor signal quality at high flow rates, usually resulting in low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), can be attributed to such factors as beam drift induced by the high-velocity flow, greatly increased noise level experienced at high flow rates, and turbulence-related attenuation, scattering and distortion of ultrasonic signals. Although the noise at high velocities can be minimized by applying known signal processing techniques, and beam drift can be partly compensated for by applying methods known in the art, turbulence-caused attenuation and distortion remain problems in the art. Therefore, a need exists to provide an ultrasonic flow meter which is capable of producing reliable results at high flow rates up to and exceeding 120 m/s.